Housing

The first thing to decide is the location of your rabbit's cage. Angoras can be housed inside, or outside, depending on your living situation, and wishes. Of course there are pros and cons to each location.

An outdoor cage must be protected from the weather. It should be located in a shady spot, have a full roof, and also side and rear walls. If you live in a wet or windy area, you also will want to make sure that you can cover the front up in case of blowing rain or snow. Rabbits do handle cold much better than heat, but draft and rain free are absolutely necessary. In addition, the cage should be raised 2-3 feet off the ground, to allow for easy cleaning and to offer some protection from the elements. It is also a must that the cage is in a secured area. Do not underestimate how quickly a dog or wild animal can break through a cage and kill your rabbits. A fenced yard is another line of defense. I also prefer cages be placed as close to the house as possible. If they are farther away, it's harder to care for them, and if there is a problem, it can escalate a lot faster. Plus, who wants to wade through rain puddles to feed and visit with a bunny. Closer is always better!

Indoors, the cage should be located in a draft free area, away from windows, and other hazards. Make sure there are no cords, or dangerous items within reach. Again, rabbits are social, and do better in a main area, as opposed to shoved into a spare bedroom, or little used area.Inside:

Pro'sLess chance of bunny being ignored or forgotten. Climate controlled, less risk of cold, or heat issues. Easier to feed and water. The bunny is more of a pet than a yard ornament. Much more fun, you see the personality when you're living with them day to day.Con'sMessy. While rabbits litterbox train easily, there are still stray bunny berries, and hay, and in the case of angoras floating fiber.Possible damage to floors, and belongings.Outside:Pro'sBetter air circulation. More natural environment. Less messy for fastidious people.Con'sWild and domestic animals can kill bunnies. Weather can cause illness. Feeding is no fun if you're having a storm. Frozen water bottles in the winter Heat in the summer can be a killer, in practically no time. A concerted effort must be made to pay attention to the bunny.***Whether inside or outside, rabbits are social animals and deserve the same care and attention as a dog or cat. They also require mental stimulation. A bunny does not deserve to be stuck in a cage or hutch with only food and water.***

Cage Life

I much prefer wire floored cages for Angoras. The extra grooming caused by bedding caught in the wool is dangerous due to the potential for wool block. The exception to this is litterbox trained rabbits where you can keep all the bedding in a litterbox. My porch bunny Albus has that setup, and it works great. Rabbits litterbox train very easily, though babies are harder (like in any species) and bunny berries do get scattered.My supplier is woodyswabbits.com. These come in a premium version, perfect for indoors, and a standard version for outdoor use. The largest size of 30X30, or 30X36is fine for a Satin Angora, though bigger is always better. I equip these with a wood shelf that goes across the cage. This adds more floor space and also provides a resting board, along with a covered area. I have found that my bunnies are much less likely to mess up a high shelf than a resting board on the floor. They all love their shelves. In addition to their boards, bunny safe toys like toilet paper or paper towel rolls, wooden blocks, golf balls, or baby keys are provided. Bunnies love to throw things, make noises and rearrange their areas. Remember this is their house, and they don't have TV, facebook, or video games!

Of course food and water containers are also important. I use clamp on crocks for food, and water bottles. All my baby bunnies will be trained to use a water bottle. I also make hay racks to feed hay on the outside of the cage. They pull it through the wire, and it keeps it clean along with out of their wool!

Exercise Time

Rabbits are social active animals, and they need enrichment outside of their cage! If your bunny is living in a house, a bunny proofed room can be used. Be aware that rabbits chew cords! And wood, and books.. If bunny proofing a room seems like too much work, a play pen made out of a dog exercise pen, or NIC panels can be great. Your imagination is your limit here! I would recommend an area at least 4'X8' for full term running. Bigger is always better! But remember SAFETY FIRST:

SAFE from electrical cordsSAFE from dogs and catsSAFE from feet that might step wrongSAFE from chemicalsSAFE from open doors

Outside, a secure bunny run consists of several things, Remember SAFETY FIRST!

SAFE from dogs, and wild animals.SAFE from digging outSAFE from getting looseSAFE from birds.We use a mixture of play areas here. My favorite though, is our bunny tractor system. Our first prototype was a little, um, over constructed! But basically it is made of 2X4 floor wire (so they can eat the grass but not dig), a top with shade, and hardware cloth sides (to provide more protection from predators. We slide it to a new area every day, and they get fresh grass. We will be building more, and including a tutorial (for a lighter weight version!) so stay tuned!

I also let bunnies out to play on the porch, which is 10X12, and we are working on another lower porch, fencing it in so I can let bunnies down while grooming. Rabbits really need 2 hours a day out of their cage, more is always better! Remember, you are their whole world. They depend on you for everything!

Diet

Angoras require a special diet for one very special reason. Their wool. To produce this wool, they need a quality diet, and to keep them safe from wool block, they need hay. Feeding rabbits, is more or less like feeding a small horse. They need a high fiber, high quality diet.

The first thing they need is high quality hay. If you have 1 or 2 rabbits, Oxbow hay is excellent quality. But if you have space, it's much cheaper to buy a bale from a feed store. Look for a high quality grass, or timothy hay. It should not have dust, weeds, or alfalfa in it. Alfalfa is fine for a treat, but not great for every day use. Angoras should be free fed hay. Yes, it's messy, but it is absolutely imperative to their digestive system, and prevention of wool block. In addition to the nutritional qualities, eating hay, sorting through it, and nibbling it makes for great enrichment for your rabbit. It is one more thing to do during their day.

Rabbit pellets are the 2nd ingredient to their diet. I free feed rabbit pellets till a bunny is approximately 6 months old. Adult Satin Angoras gets 3/4 - 1 cup of pellets a day, and English, about 1/2 cup a day. I adjust this up and down to make sure they don't gain too much weight (it shouldn't be a problem if they are fed hay, and given exercise. The pellets in a pet store ARE NOT typically good quality, or high enough quality for an Angora. Instead, you need to go to a feed store and find a better quality food. I personally am currently feeding Purina SHOW formula. This has no corn, yucca which cuts down on smell, and also 16% protein. You want to stay away from fillers. If you can only find a 50 pound bag, it can be divided and frozen in small quantities to stay fresh. Other good brands include Kent, Heinold, Pen Pals.

Treats are the last equation. These can be divided into 2 categories. Sometimes treats, and often (healthy) treats.

I feed approximately 1-2 cups of the above veggies (mixed) to my bunnies several times a week. During the summer, they eat this as a large part of their diet, winter as we don't have our own garden, the amount goes down. I typically feed veggies in the morning and pellets at night. As an anecdotal thing, I do think veggies help prevent wool block, as they are getting fiber, and liquid into their diet to keep moving things along. Make sure to introduce fresh foods slowly though to allow for adjustment.